Product Details

• Actors: Judi Dench, Bill Paterson, Anton Lesser, Harriet Walter, Suzanne Burden
• Directors: Anthony Page, Christopher Morahan, Elijah Moshinsky, Richard Eyre, Stephen Frears
• Writers: Anton Chekhov, Beverley Marcus, Helen Rappaport
• Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 8
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: BBC Warner
• DVD Release Date: March 27, 2007
• Run Time: 1140 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000LV6OK8
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #17,194 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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• For more information about "The Judi Dench Collection" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

To call The Judi Dench Collection a treasure trove is indubitably cliché, but that's so much classier than "Dench-a-Palooza." Essential for fans of the great Dame, theatre buffs, and drama students, this eight-disc set is an embarrassment of riches, with nine BBC productions of classic and original plays, plus three radio plays and excerpts from televised interviews, one of which features her moving rendition of "Send in the Clowns" from A Little Night Music, for which she won an Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical (is there nothing she can't do?). They etch an indelible portrait of an artist with a compelling presence and staggering range. Judi Dench is one of those actors who rarely seem to make a false move, handling wrenching drama, madcap farce, and witty comedy with equal aplomb. John Hopkins' Talking to a Stranger (1966) is a British television benchmark that is mentioned in the same breath as Dennis Potter's masterpieces. Dench won her first BAFTA (the British equivalent of the Oscar) for her role as a damaged sibling in a dysfunctional family. Dench stars as Anya in Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard, a 1962 production translated by, and starring, John Gielgud and, as Madame Ranesvky, Peggy Ashcroft. Ashcroft is a hard act to follow, but Dench pulls it off in a 1981 production in which she assumes the role of the irresponsible aristocrat.

Georges Feydeau's Keep an Eye on Amelie (1973) is a carefree hour in which Dench stars as a coquette who agrees to marry a confirmed bachelor (Patrick Cargill) so he can inherit a million francs. This production is paired on disc 4 with writer Michael Frayn's (Noises Off!) award-winning comedy Make and Break, which unfolds at a trade fair in Frankfort and stars Dench as a devoted secretary to a work-consumed boss. Two powerful dramas comprise disc 8, Going Gently, for which Dench earned another BAFTA as a hospice nurse to two adversarial patients, and Can You Hear Me Thinking?(1990), starring Dench and her late husband Michael Williams (A Fine Romance) as parents whose lives are shattered when their teenage son develops schizophrenia. Ibsen's still potent Ghosts (1981) boasts a stellar ensemble, including Kenneth Branagh as doomed son Oswald and Michael Gambon as Pastor Manders, with Dench as Mrs. Alving, whose respected late husband led a dark, secret life. Anything but, Absolute Hell (1991) is a lost-souls black comedy starring Dench as Christine, the proprietor of a bohemian nightclub in post-World War II London. The cast includes her future Notes on a Scandal costar, Bill Nighy, as a washed-up writer. Stardom in the States came late to Dench. This collection allows her audience to catch-up with these mostly towering performances that established her as one of the premier actors of our time. --Donald Liebenson

Product Description

Dame Judi Dench is one of the most celebrated stars of stage and screen. She is the winner of an Academy Award(R) two Golden Globes an unprecedented seven Olivier Awards and numerous BAFTAs. At the BBC she has appeared in a dazzling range of material from sitcoms to Shakespeare. This collection contains ten star-studded BBC productions spanning four decades and ranging from the Feydeau farce Keep an Eye on Amelie to Ibsen's Ghosts with Kenneth Branagh Michael Gambon and Natasha Richardson an Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard with John Gielgud Peggy Ashcroft and Ian Holm. And tucked away among the bonus features is a 1996 interview in which she sings "Send in the Clowns" from her Olivier-winning performance of A Little Night Music just o of the many gems in this glorious testament to one of the greatest performers of our time.System Requirements:Run Time: 1260 minsFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA UPC: 794051286628 Manufacturer No: E2866

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you're not a Dench fan now, you will be, April 6, 2007

By	F. Glass (MA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

What a wonderful collection of Dame Judi's work. I am particularly enjoying the works that I've not found individually: "Talking to a Stranger", the 1962 "Cherry Orchard", and "Keep an Eye on Amelie". In each of these we see the young Judi (before the Dame) already totally entrancing us by being at once the character in each play and at the same time being herself. It must be magic.

Her take on the Madame Ranevsky role, in the 1981 version of "The Cherry Orchard", is entirely hers and absolutely perfect for this viewer. Some of her later work in this collection includes: "Absolute Hell" and "Can You Hear Me Thinking". You will also find, among the bonus features several radio plays, and three interviews with Dame Judi that give us all a closer glimpse and appreciation of the intelligence, and honesty behind the talent.

For Dench fans, this is a must!

22 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Judi dench has not missed her calling, March 29, 2007

By	Eve - See all my reviews

I received my collection yesterday. Was I ever so happy. " What a little fire cracker" as Rockie states in "As time goes by". Judi Dench was made for the stage, the screen and to perform. She did not miss her calling. I have just started watching the first two DVD and I am fixated on her performance in Talking to a Stranger. What energy she has and at such a young age.
I will give you more feedback as a descend my viewing of each but I must tell you I am not the lease disappointed in this collection. I received it in ample time and it has numerous additions to the set i.e.: bonus, which I love.
Eve

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars CLOSED CAPTIONED, November 24, 2007

By	Oppicelli Ernesto - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

EXCELLENT SET. ALL THE BEST ADJECTIVES MUST BE ADDRESSED TO ANYTHING PROPOSED HERE, BUT AS A STRANGER I HAVE BOUGHT THE SET BECAUSE WE ARE INFORMED IT IS 'CLOSED CAPTIONED' AND I AM TOLD IT MEANS IT HAS SUBTITLES.
THE SET I RECEIVED HAS NO SUBTITLES. NOT AT ALL. I AM TOLD THE SAME SET RELEASED IN U.K. HAS INDEED SUBTITLES. I HAVE WRITTEN TO BBC AMERICA BUT I GOT NO ANSWER WHICH IS TOO BAD ... ISN'T IT?
ERNESTO OPPICELLI - GENOVA CERTOSA - ITALY